Why Premium WordPress Themes Are Better Than Free WordPress Themes

But the majority of problems come with updates. Most theme developers release a base version on free theme directories and later use this to make a sale of the “pro” version.

I would recommend that instead of wasting your time on technical know-how and trying to fix problems when WP updates screw up your theme, it’s better to opt for a premium themeand focus on making quality content.

Here are some reasons that will make you want to ditch your free theme and buy a premium theme.

1. Support and updates

WordPress is constantly updating its technology and every few months, there’s a major update in WordPress.

Your themes (and plugins) need to be compatible with the latest version of WordPress.

When you are using paid themes, it’s the responsibility of the framework company to release an updated and compatible version of the theme.

However, free theme creators use their theme as a side project, and you may need to wait for months before you see an update.

Reader Interactions

COMMENTS ( 32 )

Hi Harsh,
Thanks for sharing informative article. I am using free version for our company website, I tried by all means to rank our website but no way. Now I came to know why our website not ranking as we are expecting as per our efforts to rank.

I guess for a starter like me free themes are the options. I had started blogging just out of passion and never thought of monetizing. I am currently using Hueman theme and it works well. But if I want to monetize my blog (which I am seriously considering now!), I think I have to switch to premium themes.

Great article. I’ve been blogging for a little over a year now and have always used a free theme because of the cost. However, lately, I have seriously been considering investing a little bit for a premium theme. My main reason is simply to move my page a little bit away from the pack of beginner bloggers in hopes of drawing a little more attention.

Nice blog!!! Really I don’t know the difference between the free and paid WordPress themes. But, now with the help of your blog I have understood the difference between the free and paid WordPress themes.

I’m currently using a free theme, and I definitely think it’s a good go-to option for beginners and those who don’t have much money. However, I can now start to see the benefits of having a premium theme. Because of this, I’m definitely considering moving over to a premium theme.

I’m beginning to consider what are the best premium themes available, do you have any suggestions?

I noticed you mentioned Genesis themes…do you think this is the best option? Also, what do you think of Thrive Themes?

As every other thing, free stuff will always have some limitations for being free, even so, they can be great not only to start with but to try different styles or a different approach.

Premium themes are a whole new level, not only for features but also the developers care a lot, adding new and often updates, adding new plugins to help customers or specific things their clients want. You cannot have this with a free theme that never gets a single update.

I recommend to start with a free one but buying a premium theme can make things a lot better. For now, I have a free theme but isn’t just a common free theme, is the WordPress free theme for 2016 which is pretty cool, unique and customizable as shit.

I was confused, till I read your Article. I am facing same situation. Its been around six months and I am using a free theme. I have decided to move to Genesis theme ( generate Pro). Now my doubts are regarding loss of my all work, if I move to my new paid theme. I have very little knowledge of web building. Thank you.

Thank You Harsh for providing this information. I was thinking of switching to WordPress now with a free template/theme since I am new to this world. I believe that luck mattered the most that I came across this article. Now definitely I am going for a paid theme because ultimately we would need a support handle for any errors or updates. Can you give your suggestion regarding which paid themes we should go with as a newbie? Just a brief idea would be appreciated!

Nice article:-) I’m actually using a free theme for my new blog I’m quite concern for the theme . Its already off for business and I don’t see incoming search term in my blog. Hope you could help me with this

I’ve been using free wordpress themes and finally I’ve found this blog that talks about free vs premium themes. I think I really need to take this blogging to the next level and that is buying a premium theme with seo friendly.

“Encrypted links” Many of the free WordPress themes do have some sort of links built into the theme,some of the more elaborate theme creators have embedded the links to a point that if you try to remove it, your entire site will fail.
Atimes the free wordpress theme just won’t support the widget or plugin that you need, thats where support comes in, designers of premium themes are most times available to a dedicated web forum or some other avenue to their customers.

When I first started out, I used a free theme. I have not got much against free theme, besides that support is sometimes slow or non-existent. Some theme developers do help out where needed and we are very thankful to them.

Premium themes are just better for me. The support features are sometimes way more although I have noticed some free themes starting to catch up to the trends of premium themes. It makes it exciting as the developers will eventually push each other to the max.

I’m constantly changing my template (which isn’t a good thing…I know). It’s difficult to find any blogger themes comparable to the ones WordPress has to offer. Just recently I was looking at some of the premium themes ElegantThemes for WordPress has to offer. They are awesome. Thesis is another favorite of mine. I’m sure I’ll probably move my blogger blog to wordpress.

I think… that caring for a Premium theme against a free theme in the very starting stage of your blog is not important. Instead if the content of your blog is appealing.. it will automatically get ranked in the serch engines in a better way.

Once your blog is able to earn for you on the back of your comment then you can always think of upgrading to a premium theme thus, adding to your blog’s success. Worrying about your theme and not posting good content or not posting at all, will be of no help…

Nice post. I had the same why-pay-when-you-can-get-one-for-free mentality when I moved to WordPress 3 months ago. Now I’ve realised the importance of a good and flexible theme (like Thesis) and would like to get it for my blog soon. But my current problem in not with themes, but with myself. Howsoever I try, I’m not getting myself to blog regularly and sincerely (and themes can’t write posts for you!). I read all those great posts in larger blogs and get depressed about the way I write. Hopefully I’ll get over it, and once my blog is up and running smoothly, I’ll definitely go get the Thesis theme.

This is something more people should think about. Personally I do not recommend people to rush out and buy things when they are on their way to start making money online, but a premium theme is actually a great idea. Therefore I usually recommend people to start out with a simple free theme and then upgrade when they have made enough money to afford it.

My friend has purchased thesis theme and I have also used this theme on local server, it is the best theme I have ever seen. But i have one question can I use the same thesis on my blog or is there any risk of using a theme on multiple blogs?

Totally agree with you Harsh, right now I am using a free theme and going to change it from some premium WordPress theme like Thesis. Since thesis is customizable in every area.
In starting days of my blogging I too think that theme has nothing to with SEO, but I change my perspective after seen one of my blog doing well with thesis in terms of SEO.
Also it is advisable by all the SEO experts to build a website that rich in theme because search engines are more interested in themes.

This feels like a pretty bias discussion comparing free themes vs. premium themes. Currently, I’m using a free theme, but I definitely will end up switching to Thesis at some point for the SEO benefits.
Some paid themes like the ones in theme forest are not highly customizable and once you’re setup, there isn’t much changing you can do.
Other themes like thesis are very powerful, but unless your good with graphic design, you’ll probably end up having to pay more to get someone to custmize it for you.
On advantage of using free themes is you can try out a few different looks for free and they usually are fairly complete graphically. After you’ve started to establish yourself, you can easily just switch over to a more perminate paid theme that suites your needs.
In the end, premium is always better, but I don’t think most beginning bloggers can make the most of the theme without dumping a ton of money into it.

I do agree..I suffered from the pro of encrypted link @ footer which was inserting ads and u advised me to remove it..But i should also say for some free themes are is enough support and guidelines given by the author itself:)

Yups, I think that it realistic for newbie like me to use free themes, then when i have a little bit money it’s great to upgrade to premium. I just make a wish list of premium themes I want to use.

Its great to make a plan to buy premium themes. I think its just a time, cause I use free blog, getting money then buy my host and using free themes. After that money comes, business must improve i buy premium themes I admire 😀